CFL Bulbs

For an indoor photo shoot of pots I have a graduated backdrop, a diffuser panel (white ripstop) above my pot and side panels with same material. Which do I use, the daylight or bright white cfl's? Also, what should a ballpark total wattage be?

For an indoor photo shoot of pots I have a graduated backdrop, a diffuser panel (white ripstop) above my pot and side panels with same material. Which do I use, the daylight or bright white cfl's? Also, what should a ballpark total wattage be?

Thanks for any help,

Min

Wattage the more the merrier. Depending on density of ripstop you'll be loosing a lot of light from the diffusion. It's nice to have some control of deph o field and not be limited. Depending on how large you plan on enlarging and or needed fink resolution, I'd opt for higher iso /film speed (800)

As along as you can or know how to hide balance on camera, color balance on bulbs really doesn't matter. Make sure all your lights are same color balance.

I aso suggest to have some bounce cards ready, white paper taped to card board and something to hold them up. Small box

Caution big brother is watching.
The beige is blinding!!!!!!
The middle of the road is boring

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
-Albert Einstein

30W CFL bulbs, at least two. Don't necessarily look for terms like "daylight" instead look for 5000k to 5500k color temperatures. And biglou is right, you still need to know how to set the white balance in your camera, no matter what bulb you buy.

I was just researching this same question myself (putting together a new photostand for myself), and I ended buying these:

I use 26 watt CFL bulbs, daylight color. They're easy to balance the color. Really, a modern digital camera can correct for whatever bulbs you use. I use 9 bulbs. Yes, it takes a lot of bulbs when you're using a diffuser. Use the lowest ISO rating you can, or the images can get grainy. You'll need a tripod. I typically shoot at 100 ISO, with exposures ranging from 6 to 30 seconds. You want a high f-stop, to get good depth of field. The back edge of the pot must also be in focus. This also accounts for the long exposure time.

Dont' waste your money. Just go to the home center and get the cheapest 100 watt equivalent daylight color bulbs you can. I paid a buck a piece for mine.

I guess it depends on your pots and your personal preference. I used to use hardware store "daylight" bulbs. Even after I white balanced my camera, my photos were green. I compensated by tweaking the camera settings even more, bumping up the magenta. I thought my photos were fine. Then recently, I had a photo shoot with my students. We used my camera, but the rest of the photostand gear belonged to one of my students. She had 5500k bulbs, and the difference was obvious to me. Suddenly all of my old photos looked either green or pink. I decided to buy 5500k bulbs asap.

But then my pots are grey and white, and any color shift out of neutral zone is really obvious. Maybe with other colors it wouldn't matter as much.

Anyways, I don't think $14/bulb is too much to spend on something you really only need to buy once.

I use 26 watt CFL bulbs, daylight color. They're easy to balance the color. Really, a modern digital camera can correct for whatever bulbs you use. I use 9 bulbs. Yes, it takes a lot of bulbs when you're using a diffuser. Use the lowest ISO rating you can, or the images can get grainy. You'll need a tripod. I typically shoot at 100 ISO, with exposures ranging from 6 to 30 seconds. You want a high f-stop, to get good depth of field. The back edge of the pot must also be in focus. This also accounts for the long exposure time.

Watt and color balance have nothing to do with each other. But knowing how yo white balance your camera is über important. 100 iso is king. However is a rule of thumb. Again depends on output and camera, post processing, sensor size, megpxel size, lens focal legnth, digital vs lens zoom. etc etc. Also some digital cameras will get "noise" with long exposures, for those who remember film ...reciprocity failure. Ymmv. Again like in pottery test. LikeGEP said 5000 to 5500 k. (Kelvin) is daylight balanced or neutral colored light. But some like warm color light sources which lean towards orange/yellow. The more neutral the light source the more true you colors will be represented. And you will get slight color shift from diffusion source, don't get me started on color monitor calibration. (Which will vary the color of you product )

Also knowing where and how to focus will decrease your need for high f stops, and more light. Sure high fstop make for less problems. But some skill will decrease technical demands.

A 3x5 image on the Internet Will have much less tecnical demands than a 16x20 print.

I'm accustomed to shooting with strobes where I can create light more powerful than the sun. But same theory can be simplified for Home Depot lighting which I am showing pottery some of pottery friends how to do.

Another good trick with using a tripod is. Use the self timer on camera.... Minimizes camera shake.....I'm with Neil more lights is a good thing. I've seen people get away with 2 but you'll be limited. Those tin clamp on reflectors with bulbs are a good way to go. Sure beats the heat of tungsten,halogen lights. And cfl are getting cheaper

Caution big brother is watching.
The beige is blinding!!!!!!
The middle of the road is boring

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
-Albert Einstein